Advanced technology computer and communication systems have transformed many important aspects of human and computer interactions. For example, with technology advancements such as wireless and Internet systems, electronic messaging and information systems have become much more sophisticated. These systems may include e-mail, voice mail, videoconferencing, pager and cell phone technologies, for example, wherein almost an infinite supply of information may be sent and retrieved between parties in a concurrent manner. Due to the content and volume of information available, and the ever-increasing number of modalities for communicating such information, other systems have been developed to manage, direct and control message exchanges between parties and/or systems.
In some cases, methods employing automated decision making tools derived from the Decision Science and related Artificial Intelligence communities, as well as other techniques have been employed to manage and direct electronic information transfers. As a general example, this can include considerations regarding what type of device or modality (e.g., cell phone, pager, e-mail) one or all parties have access to. Other considerations can enable systems to direct messages to a particular location and/or communication modality associated with the party, as well as consider whether the value of information contained within a message exceeds the cost of disrupting the recipient presently or in the future. For example, one particular recipient of a message may desire to receive emergency messages from family, at any time of the day and by any or all available system or modality, desire to receive non-project related business messages from coworkers via e-mail, and desire not to receive some messages at all such as “Spam” e-mail or other unwanted solicitations. As can be appreciated, expectations for communicating between parties can differ greatly from one party to another.
In order to provide these and other communications capabilities, intelligent decision systems for mediating and optimizing interpersonal communications can be endowed with the ability to consider and operate upon a number of decision-making variables concerning multiple aspects of the party's circumstances when managing and directing message traffic between parties. For example, these variables can enable the system to determine and make decisions regarding a particular party's communications desires and distinguish competing requirements from one party to another. In other words, respective parties have different priorities, desires and needs that can influence decision-making processes and communications flowing from the system. Consequently, in order to satisfy a variety of requirements applying to a plurality of different circumstances and parties, many decision-making variables can be acted upon to tailor communications requirements according to a particular user's needs.
Often, along with the large number of variables that influence these systems, there is a complex and/or competing relationship between the decision-making variables, however. For example, one variable or combination of variables may subtly or overtly influence decisions relating to other variables or combinations thereof. Since the number of variables involved in the decision-making process can be extensive and/or interrelated, it may be challenging for users to personalize the decision-making process to meet specific requirements relating to that user's circumstances and desires. In other cases, it can be difficult or impossible to convey these desires between communicating parties.